I'm Going To Be Fine
by WritingGirl88
Summary: A one-shot about Emmett's last day as a human and the trials he faced as a human.
1. Chapter 1

"It doesn't make since to me." Emmett murmurs to his red-haired friend as the two young men wonder through the dense woods. Emmett holds his riffle in one hand and his pounding head in another.

"You're thinking too much about it," Joseph says. "You'll get yourself all in a tizzy."

"How can I not? This is big news."

"It happened to the Hinmen's last year. Mrs. Hinmen got with the mailman. Remember?"

Emmett shrugs. He and Joseph may have been best buds since they were in diapers, but Joe didn't understand this issue. The Hinmen's won't even understand this situation. This is the biggest shocker the town has ever seen. This scandal is nothing compared to the hype from the Hinmen's marriage issues.

"The Hinmen kids didn't lose a father." Emmett points out.

No, the Hinmen's situation is nothing like the McCarty's situation. The Hinmen's family came back together after Mr. Hinmen walked in on Mrs. Hinmen on her back between the kitchen table and the mailman. The town was buzzing about them for weeks, but it eventually died down. They stayed together, she never moved out, and their kids only had to deal with the fact that their mother is a slut. Not like what the McCarty's are going through now.

"He might as well be your father, though." Joseph says. "I mean, he has raised you."

"But he didn't like it. Remember how he would never come to our ball games? He never took me camping, fishing, hunting. Your Dad was the one who did all that with me."

Joe doesn't respond, and Emmett is sure it's because Joe knows it's true.

"And remember all the times he smacked me around?"

"Usually you deserved to get a good ass whooping, though."

"I can't argue that." Emmett admits. "But looking back, do you think it was a little more than just discipline?"

"He was harsh, but you were a hellion." Joe says. Emmett shrugs.

"Remember when we were thirteen and we found your Dad's stash of beer?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Your old man took us out back and whooped our asses for it. Then, when my old man found out, he beat me senseless when we got home. He gave me that black eye and we told everyone I got hit by a baseball."

"Wasn't he drinking that day, though?" Joe tries to justify.

Emmett nods. It seemed to Emmett that every time he got in major trouble, John McCarty had to drink before he'd try to handle it. He knew that once his 'Dad' popped open a cold one that he really screwed up.

"Once when he was smacking on me, he yelled 'I would hate to call myself your father'." Emmett admits. "I was probably fifteen or sixteen. That's stuck with me for years. I figured he just misspoke because he was drunk. But it makes sense now."

Joseph sympathizes with Emmett, he really does, but he isn't sure how to help his pal. The duo only had to be serious when they were in serious trouble, and they both learned early on in life that the best way to handle that was to keep their mouths shut.

"How's that head feeling?" Joe finally asks.

"Rough. I think I may have over done it last night."

Joseph never thought he'd hear the day that Emmett admitted to drinking too much. He falls silent again, but Emmett doesn't notice. He's too focused on his pounding, spinning head.

The whole situation baffles him. He always thought his mother and the man he thought was his father had a good marriage. They didn't seem to fight a lot, and even when they did, John just grit his teeth until Margaret got over the problem. Emmett never once thought that his mother would cheat on John.

It explains a lot, though. The McCarty family portrait resembles a child's puzzle asking which item doesn't belong with the rest. Margaret stands at five foot two. Her light brown hair is naturally straight, but she used her curling iron to create soft curls framing her face every morning. Her porcelain skin tone is always perfectly made up and her tiny frame is always well dressed. John is only five foot five, and his flabby stomach hangs over his pants. His blonde hair is pin-straight and his eyes are baby blue. The other two McCarty kids, Henry and Annabel, are a carbon copy of their father. Both have his blonde hair, his light blue eyes, his chubby body type. And then there's Emmett. He finally stopped growing once he reached six foot five. His hair is dark, almost black, and his skin is darker than the rest of his family. His arms are about as big around as John's, but his arms are thick from muscle instead of fat. The only part of his stomach that sticks out are his well defined abs. His hair is curly instead of straight. His hands are bigger than John's, his feet are bigger than John's, his shoulders are bigger than John's. He does have blue eyes, but even they are a different shade of blue than John's eyes.

But growing up, Emmett always had reasonable excuses to explain these differences. He thought maybe tall height skipped a generation on John's side of the family. His skin was always darker because he spent more time in the sun than John did. Annabel and Henry took after John's genes more than he did. Everything seemed to be justified.

"That girl was a cutie, though."

"I just wish I could remember her whole name." Emmett says with only a slight amount of shame. He racks his brain for the pretty dark haired girl's name, but he can't think straight with his headache.

Emmett knows that his drinking has earned him a reputation. Usually, it's just for fun. What can be better for a young man than being around playgirls with loose morals? His fun was only occasionally interrupted with a bar fight or two, or three, or ten. He would hear someone make a snide comment about his mother's sexual life, about his father being spineless or stupid, and the alcohol and testosterone raging through him would take over. Emmett and Joe could handle any man who had a negative thing to say.

Yesterday wasn't for fun, though, and Emmett realized the comments made sense now. After coming home to find John drunk in the kitchen and Margaret no where to be found, Emmett knew something was wrong. John wasted no time in pitching the glass beer bottle at Emmett's head and screaming at him to get out of the house. Luckily, Emmett's bar fight experiences made him a pro at dodging thrown beer bottles. It flew past him and shattered against the wall, and the fact that Emmett remained unharmed made John even more angry. The neighbors heard John shouting that Margaret is a whore and that he wanted the tall bastard child out of his house. Emmett tried to calm him down, but John was too far gone. His fat neck shook as he yelled, his fingers quivered as the balled into fists over and over again, his face and ears turned bright red.

Emmett has spent a lot of time with John when he's drunk, though. This is more extreme than the other time, of course, but he figured he could handle it. What really bothered Emmett was when Henry and Annabel wondered out of their bedroom and peered around the corner. John didn't notice, but Emmett did. He told the youngsters to get back to their rooms, but they seemed frozen to the floor. Emmett stomped over the glass, the shards sticking into the thick soles of his boots. He put his hands on Annabel and Henry's back and told them to go again. Annabel whimpers as she eyes John, both her and Henry ignoring Emmett. Emmett looks over his shoulder just in time to see John draw his arm back with a bottle in hand. Emmett grabs the kids and pulls them against his chest just in time to keep them from getting hit and safe from the shards of glass. The bottle slams against Emmett's back. Annabel and Henry scream as Emmett pushes them away from kitchen. Annabel latches onto Emmett, so he scoops her up and grabs Henry hand and pulls him along to their bedroom.

Emmett shuts the door behind him once Annabel and Henry were in. Annabel's chubby arms stay wrapped around his wide shoulders until Emmett carries her to her bed. She releases him and wipes away the tears in her eyes as she asks why her father is so angry.

"I just messed up, that's all." Emmett insists, even though he knows it isn't the true. He can't explain cheating and bastard babies to them. "Just lay down. Dad will be calmed down in a minute. Just let me take care of it."

"You screwed up again, Emmett." Henry scolds with an agitated huff. Emmett pulls his brow together as he watches the boy climb into bed. He sounds just like John.

"I'll take care of it." Emmett repeats.

When Emmett returned to the kitchen, he was greeted by John's fist flying towards him. John wanted to hit him square in the nose, but stumbled and landed it on Emmett's shoulder. He pulled himself back upright and glares.

"Get out of my house!" He bellowed.

"Pops, what did I-"

"Stop calling me that!" John spews out. "I am not your father!"

Emmett froze where he stood for only a moment. It shocked him to the bone to hear those words.

He didn't stick around to hear the rest of John's sloppy speech. He only caught bits and pieces of it as he made his way to the front door. As John smacked Emmett, he yelled about Margaret leaving him, whoring around town with a new man and swearing that he'll leave her and take the kids with him if she gets knocked up by someone else again. Emmett leaped out of the front door and slammed it shut. He could still hear John, but couldn't quiet make out what he was saying.

That's when Emmett ran to Joe's place, only three blocks away. He knew that John wouldn't hurt Annabel and Henry, so they were safe with Emmett away.

He wouldn't dare do what he's done to Emmett to his _real_ children.

Emmett raged to Joe about what John had done, what Margaret had done. He still didn't know where his mother ran off too, and he was still too shocked to wonder about who his real father is. Joe suggested they drink the problems away.

One big bar fight and multiple beers later, Emmett found himself leaving the bar with the pretty dark-haired girl. The two of them sneaked into Joe's barn for a night together. Emmett woke up to that long black hair in his face as she lightly snored. It really didn't bother him too much, but realized that he prefers blondes. He left her there, knowing she would let herself out when she woke up. They always do.

When he let himself into Joe's house, Joe was pulling out his two riffles. He handed one to Emmett, and without much more words exchanged between the two of them, they headed into the woods.

They continue on together in silence, trying to find the perfect hunting spot. Emmett doesn't pay much attention, though. No matter how hard he tries, he can't push the recent events out of his mind. How could he?

"Shh," Joe shushes quietly and puts his arm out to stop Emmett in his tracks. "Hear that?"

Emmett listens carefully. He can hear rustling just a short distance away. He smiles at Joe as a loud snort follows.

"A black bear." Emmett says in hushed excitement.

"I know what you're thinking, Emmett, and it's dumb. Even for you." Joe warns. Emmett ignores him and tip-toes towards the noise.

"I'm going to be fine. Just shut up so I can get a little closer."

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Joe states louder. Emmett shoots him an agitated glare as he listens to the bear moving farther away. He holds up his rifle.

"I have this. I'm going to be fine."

Joe rolls his eyes, but he's really not surprised. Ever since they saw their first black bear at twelve years old when Joe's father took them camping, Emmett has been fascinated by them. Joe's caution outweighed his curiosity.

Emmett creeps up on the bear as quietly as he can. His heart starts to race as the big black beauty comes into sight. The adrenaline rush that he's become addicted to rushes through his body. He can finally pull his attention from his home problems. After all, he's waited his whole life to get this close to a black bear. No one in town is going to believe this. What are the chances of a bear letting him get _this_ close? All the others he's seen worked hard at keeping their distance. But not this one. The bear stands on its hind legs and sniffs the air. As it falls back down, it spots Emmett and starts his way.

This one isn't like the other bears, and that's obvious to Emmett. This bear is going to give him the thrill of his life.

 **I hope you enjoyed it! This is my first attempt at a one-shot, so any constructive criticism would be helpful. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

This. Is. Amazing.

Who would have thought that being mauled by a bear would be the best thing that's ever happened to me. The things I can now are just phenomenal.

I can jump from one tree top to the other. I can grab a bolder and throw it across the forest. I can dive into the deepest water and stay under without drowning myself. I can pinch rocks between my fingers and turn them to dust. The possibilities are endless. I'm never tired, I'm never hurt, and I'm never weak.

And as if the strength isn't enough, this family that found me is wonderful too. Edward was the first one to join the man who created us. Edward was changed at seventeen year old and has this crazy ability to read minds. It's wild. He knows exactly what everyone around him is thinking. Esme is the wife of the leader. She is the true meaning of motherly. The leader is the ultimate father figure. He has a level head, knows more than anyone I've ever met before, and can do something more amazing than read minds or have extraordinary strength.

He can control himself around human blood so well that he can work in a hospital.

A hospital. Of all places where he could work, he chooses a hospital. For what we are, for vampires, that's pretty incredible.

The word 'vampire' still makes me grin like a madman. I thought they were mythical creatures that were talked about to scare children. I never thought in a million years that I would become one. But here I am, paler and stronger than ever.

I have my beautiful bride Rosalie to thank for that. She's downright stunning. I don't know how, but she found me in the woods. The bear got startled and left me for dead when Rosalie came up towards us. I don't remember a lot because I was in so much pain, but I remember looking up at her and fighting to stay conscious so I could keep looking at her. I thought she was an angel coming to take me to heaven.

She didn't take me to heaven, but she took me to the next best place. She took me to Carlisle and he changed me. I thought he was God and wondered how I was being taken to heaven. I mean, God must have seen how many girls I took to Joe's barn. But I wasn't taken to heaven or God. I was taken to the Cullen home.

They welcomed me with open arms. Well, kind of. Edward had an attitude, but he's come along and opened up.

I love this new life. It is amazing and I love this new family, but my human family is still lingering in my mind.

The three day change was painful and took a lot of my human memories, but I do remember some. I remember my Dad being angry at me over something. I remember my brother and sister being scared. I know my Mom is alive, but I can't remember why she wasn't in the house. And I remember that when my family ate meat, it was because I went hunting.

My human family wasn't in a good spot when I was changed. I must have been hunting to bring food home.

Carlisle has these rules for us. We don't feed on the humans. Instead, we feed off of animals. It doesn't satisfy our hunger completely, but it's better than killing people. I've made mistakes, though, and there's been some casualties which has forced us to move to different towns. But I've gotten better. I trust myself enough now that I could do one last thing to make sure my family is okay.

I wonder through the Cullen house. It's a large three bedroom home, but with these vampire ears we can still hear everything anyone says in here. And with Edward's mind reading skills, I'm sure he already knows what I'm about to ask. I still make my way to his room.

"Hey, bro," I say and lean against the door frame. He gives me an agitated look before returning his attention to one of Carlisle's old journals. His angry red eyes could scare anyone away. Anyone who isn't family, that is.

"No," He growls. I don't let it bother me. His eyes explain his mood. Usually they're golden, but Edward had a slip-up and drank from a human on a hunting trip we took with Carlisle. That's why we're in this new house.

"Just hear me out, man." I say. "Listen, my human family is struggling."

"Why do you care?" He murmurs.

"I don't have enough money of my own to help them out and I don't feel right asking Carlisle for any more."

"So you come to me? Why don't you ask your wife for some cash?" He scoffs.

"She spends all hers." I explain. "Listen, I have half of it. If you could just match me-"

"Why are you concerned about them? Your father didn't care for you."

I pause and eye him suspiciously. I know something was off with my family, but what does Edward know that I don't?

Edward sighs and drops his chin to his chest.

"Listen, I'm sorry. How much do you need? I'll make sure to get it."

* * *

I watch as Carlisle sets the cloth bag at the front door of my parents house. He raps his knuckles on the door once before taking off and running back up the hill where I stand.

My Dad comes out and looks around for someone, but then his eyes drop to the bag. He bends down cautiously. After he peers in, he gasps and yanks it inside. I can see him and my Mom's silhouettes in the window. He opens the bag and holds it out to her. She grabs some of the money and let's it fall from her fingers back into the bag.

"That was a good idea, Emmett." Carlisle says and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks. I don't have to worry about them now." I tell him. "But Edward's the reason they got so much. He loaned me a lot more than I asked for."

Carlisle nods, but doesn't say anything. We just keep watching my old house. My parents set at a table and start counting the money.

"Do you know something about my parents that I don't?" I ask Carlisle. This time, he sighs.

"I don't think you want to know, Emmett."

"Edward said my father never cared for me. What did he mean by that?"

"Family matters are always complicated," Carlisle sighs this time. "But does it really matter now?"

I keep my eyes glued on the window and mull over Carlisle's question. Does it really matter now?

"It doesn't." I answer. "I don't care what was going on. I just care that they're okay now. But how did you guys know about my family?"

"It's a small town, Emmett. Word spreads like wild fire."

"Edward was told not to mention it, wasn't he? That's why he gave me so much more than I asked for, right?"

Carlisle nods. I smile and playfully elbow his side.

"Hey, I'm getting good at this. I knew you must have scolded him or something. You know, mentally of course. I can read everyone's actions now. I'll be fitting in in no time."

"You already fit in, Emmett." He says with a smile. I smile and shrug back. I still have a lot to learn in this new family, but I'm going to be fine here.

We watch my family a little while longer. Between the cash I had saved that Carlisle gave me and the loan that Edward gave me, my Mom and Dad shouldn't have to worry about money for a long, long time. They're obviously pleased with it, and part of me wishes I could go down there and let them know I'm still taking care of them, but I know it's not necessary. As much as I love them, I have a new family now.

"Can we head home?" I ask Carlisle. "My throat is starting to burn."

"Of course, son."

I smile and Carlisle leads the way back home. It's quiet a few towns over, but that's no problem. We're there in no time. I'm still smiling like an idiot, though. Carlisle calling me son felt good. And he's right. I already fit in.

 **Hi everyone! So I know I said this was going to be a one-shot, but I read on that in the Official Illustrated Guide to the Twilight Saga, Emmett leaves a small fortune on his human family's porch. I thought this would be a fun scene to write and add on to the one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!**


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